February 25, 2019) – Kaulig Racing and Austin Dillon are teaming up for the second time, as Dillon is set to pilot the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro SS at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Boyd Gaming 300. Dillon, who won the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) Championship in 2013, competed for Kaulig Racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2018 in the No. 10 Chevy, marking the first time Kaulig Racing fielded a second entry in the NXS. ”I’m thankful for the opportunity to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway,” said Austin Dillon, who won a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2015 from the pole position. “The Kaulig Racing shop is within the same campus complex as Richard Childress Racing and both teams share some of the same resources so I know that Kaulig Racing will do their best to give me everything [...]

February 24, 2019 -- The second event of the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series concluded Sunday as Billy Torrence took home the Top Fuel victory at the 35th annual Magic Dry Organic Absorbent NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. Matt Hagan (Funny Car) and Jeg Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock) were also winners in their respective categories at the second of 24 events on the 2019 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. B. Torrence emerged victorious with a run of 3.965-seconds at 326.40 mph in his Capco Contractors/Torrence Racing dragster to take down Leah Pritchett in the final round. After earning the No. 1 qualifier on Saturday, B. Torrence secured his second career victory. B. Torrence took down Terry Totten, Mike Salinas and rookie debut Jordan Vandergriff as he raced to his first win in 2019. Pritchett overcame Cameron Ferre, Terry McMillen and teammate Antron Brown en [...]

Feb. 21, 2019 – Prolific American racing artist Randy Owens has been named Official Race Artist for the 2019 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. As Official Race Artist, Owens has created the poster artwork for the 45th annual event, which will also grace the covers of the event program, Fan Guide, T-shirts and other race-related materials. Owens has established himself in the American racing art scene, having produced over 300 handmade serigraph editions in his realistic style -- modern and evolutionary, with color and motion as the central theme. He has created poster art for Long Beach races eight times, including the Grand Prix’s 40thanniversary edition in 2014, as well as posters for the Miami Grand Prix, US Grand Prix at Indianapolis, Road America Historic Races and the Bahrain International Circuit. And, since 1991, he has also produced an annual motor racing calendar for Bridgestone. ​ Born in Baltimore, Md., [...]

February 18, 2019 -- Tommy Johnson Jr.’s first trip to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, the site of this weekend’s 35th annual Magic Dry Organic Absorbent NHRA Arizona Nationals, as a nitro driver came in 1989. With the race marking the 30th anniversary of his Top Fuel debut, the now Funny Car championship contender reflected on what three decades of nitro racing has taught him. “You can definitely see where being a veteran and having experience pays off,” said Johnson, who has 17 career wins. “I want to use that now. I think it’s all about maintaining focus throughout the year. It’s a long season and you can’t let the lows get you down or let the highs distract you. That comes from years of experience. When you’ve been there and done that, it helps keep you on track. Being a veteran, it gives you a whole different mindset on [...]

February 7, 20l9, by Kay Presto,www.carsandcompetition.com Going into the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Championship season, Top Fuel competitor Clay Millican will definitely have his work cut out for him. This season he will start out with a whole new team. “Everybody on this team will have to learn to dance together,” said the Drummond, Tennessee native, with his friendly grin. Even his crew chief, Mike Kloker, is new to the team, but Millican feels confident that he will be competitive again this year. Parts Plus is still his co-sponsor, and he now has Strutmasters to partner his team. The way he puts it, “I have no other business, no other job; my entire life is dedicated to racing, and I want to win the championship this year.” Millican has been competing in drag racing since 1998, when he earned his Top Fuel dragster license and made his IHRA debut In [...]

February 5, 2019 – The Grand Prix Association of Long Beach announced today that it has reached a multi-year agreement with Acura to become title sponsor of the Grand Prix of Long Beach starting in 2019. The 45th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will take place April 12-14, 2019. Launched in 1986 as the first Japanese luxury automotive brand, Acura is a leading nameplate that delivers Precision Crafted Performance – a commitment to evocative styling, high performance and innovative engineering, all built on a foundation of quality and reliability. Both Acura and its American Honda parent have their U.S. headquarters in Torrance, California. Last year, Acura made a successful return to the top level of sports car racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, fielding two entries in the Prototype class with Team Penske. The driver combinations of Juan Pablo Montoya/Dane Cameron and Helio Castroneves/Ricky Taylor finished fifth and seventh [...]

February 5, 2019— J.R. Todd achieved a lifelong dream in 2018 by winning his first NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series world championship. But after claiming the Funny Car world title, Todd is hardly content and the first taste of championship glory has only pushed him further heading into the 2019 season in his 10,000-horsepower DHL Toyota Camry. The major goal is to try and become the first repeat champion in the class since John Force finished off his stretch of seven straight in 2002, but Todd knows plenty of work remains before that can become a possibility. The first step in that process starts at this weekend’s annual iconic opener at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, the tradition-rich 59th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com, where Todd will try to become just the fourth driver to win the event in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. “Now [...]

February 2. 3019 -- NHRA drivers took the opportunity to shake off the rust at the preseason test session at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park Jan. 30 – Feb. 2. Defending Top Fuel world champion Steve Torrence shows no sign of slowing down by setting the quickest pass of the session. Torrence piloted his Capco Contractors/Torrence Racing dragster to a 3.689 sec. pass at 328.78 mph during Thursday’s testing. The Texas native made history last season as he went undefeated during the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship. "We didn't change anything going into this test session," Torrence stated. "We just needed to brush the rust off of myself and the guys to get prepared for Pomona. There's some really good cars out there that we're going to have to contend with this season. We will take this with a grain of salt, build confidence and [...]

Febriary 2, 2019 --Kaulig Racing announced today that Ross Chastain will return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) in 2019 with new partner, Nutrien Ag Solutions. Chastain, scheduled to compete for the championship in the Xfinity Series, will partner with Kaulig Racing and Nutrien Ag Solutions in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway on February 16th. He will also pilot the No. 10 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet at Chicagoland Speedway (June 29th) and Texas Motor Speedway (November 2nd).“I’m thrilled for this opportunity with Kaulig Racing,” said Chastain. “We’ve had quite the roller coaster of emotions in the off-season, but I am really looking forward to competing for wins this season. It is also a great honor to have a new sponsor on board with Nutrien Ag Solutions. Partnering with Nutrien Ag Solutions is a natural fit for me with my family’s legacy as watermelon farmers, and I’m excited to represent their growers and employees.” Kaulig Racing enters their fourth [...]

January 29, 2019 The DragonSpeed sportscar (and soon to be IndyCar) team emerged victorious on its return to the American racing scene, claiming LMP2 class laurels at the weather-disrupted 57th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance classic, which was red flagged twice for the first time in its history due to torrential rain.Before the downpour, DragonSpeed’s pair of ORECA O7-Gibsons were firmly in control of LMP2, having overcome various early incidents and a challenge from the similar PR1 Mathiasen machine. The number 81 10Star entry driven by Henrik Hedman, Ben Hanley, Nicolas Lapierre, and Motul Pole Award winner James Allen held the lead, a lap ahead of the Soliq-backed number 18 car of Roberto Gonzalez, Pastor Maldonado, Sebastián Saavedra, and Ryan Cullen, the latter two making their debut with the team. The first red flag was preceded by several hours of running under full-course yellow. The restart with just [...]

Categories

Book and Movie Reviews

McLaren (the movie)Review by Larry Mason, June 2017
The latest documentary chronicling the successful career, and ultimately tragic demise of a superstar race car driver, should be on every true racing fan’s list to see.

LYN ST. JAMES – An Incredible JourneyMay 11, 2016, by Kay Presto
From the minute you pick up and read the introduction of Lyn St. James’ newest book, LYN ST JAMES: An Incredible Journey, you are inside the race car – seeing, feeling, experiencing — the excitement and tremendous challenge of being a race car driver.

BOOK REVIEW: Driven MindNovember 24, 2015, by Kay Presto
Grab your hat and let’s go! If you’ve ever wanted to do a fuel run around a 2000-mile loop of Great Britain on one sealed tank of gas, transport (smuggle) schoolbooks to Russian children, put an entire car inside the top level of the CNN Tower, and set records driving through 80 countries around the world, then the book DRIVEN MIND will take you on those journeys, and 47 more!

Book Review: “As a matter of fact, I am Parnelli Jones”March 28, 2013, by Kay Presto
Reading Parnelli Jones’ newest book, “As a matter of fact, I am Parnelli Jones,” will hold you spellbound for hours as you weave through this incredible life story of the famed Rufus Parnell Jones. During his remarkable racing career, Parnelli conquered every form of racing in which he competed – beginning with the half-mile dirt tracks all the way to the highest ranks of Victory Lane in the Indianapolis 500, winning races and garnering championships in an impressive list of the most hard-fought, hard-driven forms of motorsports competition.

SennaAugust 28, 2011 Movie Review by Larry Mason
Winner of the Audience Award World Cinema Documentary at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and the Audience Award for Best International Feature at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival

Yellow FlagJuly 11, 2011
Book Review by Kay Presto
Inspired by his high-speed ride in a Richard Petty NASCAR stock car, award-winning novelist and sportswriter Robert Lipsyte has crafted an exciting and compelling novel about a teenager in a dedicated stock car family, in the book Yellow Flag.

An Accidental SportswriterJuly 11, 2011
Book Review, by Kay Presto
An Accidental Sportswriter is a moving, in-depth memoir in the life of Robert Lipsyte, an award-winning sportswriter for the New York Times and other major publications.

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